My Darkest Days
My Darkest Days is a Canadian post-grunge band based in Toronto, consisting of lead singer Matt Walst, Doug Oliver, Brendan McMillan, Sal Costa, and Reid Henry. They were discovered by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, who signed them up for his production company, 604 Records."Porn Star Dancing", Island Def Jam, June 2, 2010, accessed July 9, 2010. In June 2010, the band went on tour with Sick Puppies, Janus, and It's Alive,Okarmus, Matt. "Sick Puppies bring unique sound to Capital City", Montgomery Advertiser, July 8, 2010. and shot a video in Las Vegas to support their first single, "Porn Star Dancing," released on June 21, 2010.Bergen, Werner. In August of 2010 they toured with Trapt, Skillet, and Papa Roach."My Darkest Days at Red Dog for two shows", The Peterborough Examiner, June 24, 2010. *For the release date of the single, see "Porn Star Dancing—Single", iTunes, accessed July 9, 2010. On August 4, 2010, the video was 67th on the iTunes list of the 100 most–downloaded videos worldwide, and the single was its fourth most downloaded rock song in Canada.For the video list, see "iTunes charts", and for the song list, see "iTunes Store Top 10 Rock Songs", apple.com, accessed July 14, 2010. Kroeger appears in the "Porn Star Dancing" video, as does American rapper Ludacris and Black Label Society lead vocalist and lead guitarist Zakk Wylde.Bergen, Werner. "My Darkest Days at Red Dog for two shows", The Peterborough Examiner, June 24, 2010. Lead singer Matt Walst is also a friend of pop singer Justin Bieber.Bergen, Werner. "My Darkest Days at Red Dog for two shows", The Peterborough Examiner, June 24, 2010. History The band was founded by Matt Walst in 2005, who was born in Norwood, Ontario, and whose older brother, Brad Walst, is the bassist for Three Days Grace. Instead of playing in his brother's band, Matt decided to form one of his own with his friends Brendan McMillan on bass guitar, Doug Oliver on drums, and Chris McMillan on Lead Guitar later replaced by Paulo Neta on lead guitar. In 2009, a friend introduced Walst to Toronto–based singer–guitarist Sal Costa, who later became the band's guitarist, replacing Paulo Neta who became the guitarist for Thornley. My Darkest Days has opened for many well–known bands, including Three Days Grace, Default, Theory of a Deadman, Skillet, Papa Roach, and Hinder.Youseph, Ramon. "My Darkest Days—Pornstar Dancing Single Review", Rock Music, suite101.com, June 23, 2010, accessed July 9, 2010. When Chad Kroeger heard My Darkest Days' music, he was so impressed he immediately signed them to his record label. The first song they wrote after being signed was "Porn Star Dancing," which became their first single. Kroeger decided he wanted to be featured on it, along with a friend of his, Zakk Wylde, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Black Label Society and a former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. Kroeger and Wylde both appear in the video, which was filmed at the Hard Rock Las Vegas Vanity nightclub. There is also a remix of the single featuring American rapper Ludacris.Zakk Wylde featured in My Darkest Days video", Blabbermouth.net, June 21, 2010, accessed July 9, 2010. On their official Facebook page, My Darkest Days announced their debut eponymous album was to be released on September 21, 2010. On that album, the song "Set It on Fire" features Australian singer/guitarist Orianthi on lead guitar, known from her work with Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, and Michael Jackson. The Saw 3D soundtrack released on October 26, 2010 features the single "The World Belongs to Me." “‎'Porn Star Dancing” became the 60th most downloaded video in iTunes history. My Darkest Days was named the “Best New Band of 2010” by hardDriveXL after hitting the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks ranking, as well as #1 on FMQB’s Active Rock list. My Darkest Days’ first major–label single, “Porn Star Dancing,” went gold in Canada last month.http://livenloudmagazine.com/magazine.php?id=1248 Members ;Current * Matt Walst – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2005–present) * Sal Costa – lead guitar, vocals (2009–present) * Brendan McMillan – bass guitar (2005–present) * Doug Oliver – drums, percussion (2005–present) * Reid Henry – keyboards (live) (2009–present) ;Former * Chris MacMillan - lead guitar * Paulo Neta – lead guitar (2005–2009) Gallery Image:Matt Walst 2010-11-13 at Piere's.jpg|Matt Walst, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, November 2010. Discography Studio albums Singles References External links *My Darkest Days website * * Category:Canadian alternative rock groups Category:Canadian hard rock musical groups Category:Musical groups from Peterborough, Ontario Category:Musical groups established in 2005 Category:2000s music groups de:My Darkest Days